My dealer called me today and told me that the HCH they promised to deliver next week will not be coming. They told me that i would have to wait possibly until May. Fortunately, we we had agreed to include in the contract that if they can't deliver by next week I had the choice of cancelling the deal, or sign a new agreement on a new date. So i told them i'll take my deposit back and cancel the deal.
This car is so hard to find in toronto; ive called all dealers but only one here in markham has the color i like; Sparkle grey pearl but the dealer (formula honda) there is very dishonest, persistent, and annoying. The manager there two weeks ago told me that he had 12 customers making an offer on that one car he had on his lot and he wanted me to pay over MRSP for it. His salesman kept calling almost everyday for two weeks but everytime i ask him to quote me on the phone he would say to come down and make a deal: there was even one instance where he said he would knock down the price $1000 dollars; so i made the trip there and he showed me the invoice which he wanted me to sign: it was still over MRSP, i said where is the $1000 off? he said just send this gov't incentive and they'll send you $1000 in the mail. i told him, "nice try, you just wasted my time" other dealers give me OTR(on the road) prices over the phone, why cant they? i will never deal with dealers like these again: TRAP ARTISTS
Anyway, i'm out of luck with this hybrid so I think i'm going to bite the bullet and pick up a prius which is available in almost all toyota dealers here.
So i'm still in the hybrid bandwagon and making a good deed for the environment, as well as letting me drive by a lot more gas pumps until i have to fill.

so, its was "I only want a certain color" or I get a Prius?

while these cars are in huge demand, I doubt you will find someone to offer msrp that easy. get one, and that's it.

That amazing. There is almost the opposite situation here in Phoenix where a Prius will give you the long wait, additional markup, and arrogant sales folks. The HCH is not easy to find either but I've had a good experience here. If you really want the HCH, why don't you wait a few months until supply catches up with demand.

P.S. Don't worry. We'll still speak to you even if you opt for a Prius.

Support the Troops - Drive a Hybrid!

Buy the Prius or keep at it. I refused to pay over MSRP and was greatly rewarded with my HCH.

Alabaster Silver HcH

Thanks,
Ive been searching for the HCHII since it came out last October. I really fell in love with the new HCH styling. I have already dealt with about 15 dealers since; so i've been shopping for this car for about 5 months now; I too am one of the people who refuse to pay MRSP for any car regardless of price range. (regards JJANEY).
luckily i have found a dealer who took off $1000 dollars off the MRSP which brought my total to $29995 CAN (everything). which is pretty good; unfortunately they could not deliver.So now there are no dealers here who have it in stock except the one who gave me a hard time; also i took a good look at the ODO of that car and it says 80km and gas consumption of 11.4L/100KM so it's safe to assume that this car had been test driven quite a lot and had been driven hard; there's no way i'll pay MRSP for that.
I really need a car now; my gf is getting annoyed taking the bus to work and we only have one car; I promised her i'd have one by next week.
fortunately most toyota dealers here have the prius in stock, and the one next to my house actually has 3 which still have the plastic tapes all over the body; so i'll go to three dealers on monday and pick one with who offers me the best price.

thanks for the support.
best regards
gj

CamelFilters,
I feel your disappointment. Have you considered looking in Buffalo, NY? I live about 80 miles from Buffalo towards Erie, PA. The Honda dealer here in Jamestown has only sold 2 '06 HCHs. I ordered one and they got one from Ray Locks Honda in Orchard Park (near Buffalo). It took about a month. I know there are at least 3-4 dealers in the Buffalo area. I don't have a clue how difficult or easy it is to buy a car across the border. Have you looked at other dealers within a 100 mi radius of Toronto? It is more work, but use the internet, phone etc. I got my car at -$900.00 from MSRP.
Good luck,

Don
Best tank 67.5 mpg (555.5 mi.)
Best trip 91.5 mpg (42.2 mi.)

The more I read your story, the more I realize I have been lucky to get the car within a week.....

CamelFilters, why don't you go back to your original dealer and tell them the car you want is located at "formula honda" and have them transfer to their garage? I don't think a dealer can hold on a car if it's not sold. Mine was a transfer. Don't mind the 80km. Plus the 11.4L/100KM, does not mean anything because when the trip is reset to 0km, just having the car running idle, after let say adding .1km to the trip counter, will generate wrong stat. When I refull my car, reset the trip and go on. On my first stop, if autostop does not activate, I'll get that kind of figure. But a few km later, everything felt back in place.

I also remember, when I left the dealer, I reset all trip to 0. After, I took the car out of the garage and let it run idle in the parking while I was adjusting my mirrors and my seat. When I was ready to go the trip was showing 22.8L/100km.....

Good luck in getting your HCH....

Soleil24
Quebec, Canada 06 HCH owner

Hi CamelFilters,

It is your decision, but keep in mind that the Prius will cost you an extra $5,500 CDN and it isn't your first choice.

Also if you decide to wait for the HCH you could keep your initial deal, since the time when you could cancel the deal has elapsed, I would assume that you can get out of it at any time. You could keep the deal and continue to search with other dealers, if you find what you want then cancel the initial deal. It sounds like a good position to be in.

I don't know how Honda dealers in Ontario handle their customer orders, but I would think that they fulfill the older orders first. Getting out of the previous deal might put you at the end of the line (???).

BTW. Formula Honda's Web Site was showing more than 20 Civics in stock last week, now they only show 3 Civics (no hybrids). http://formulahonda.com

PS. I agree with Soleil24, the 80km and MPG reading on the new car doesn't seem like a big deal. You have all the warranties and you'll probably double that mileage in less than an hour .

Good luck, Katz.

Thanks Katz,
I bit the dust today and bought a new 06 prius, i went to three dealers and got the best price. OTR price was supposed to be $38,000 for a base model; i included hood deflector and window visors and i bargained it down to $36,300; and i'm just about to fill out the form for the extra $1000 rebate from the ontario gov't; so i'm really happy with the deal. That's $2700 off the original OTR Price!
Thanks everyone for the advice and support. I still envy the look of the new HCH but availability is an issue. The toyota dealer near my place had 3 priuses in stock so i bought one and i'll be picking it up tomorrow at 4pm.
Finally I can start planning my trip to Nova Scotia for the summer

Once again, thanks everyone
best regards,
gj

Hi CamelFilters,

Congratulations ! Sounds like you've got a really good deal for the Prius, I am sure you're really going to enjoy it.

I am also planning a long trip this summer, my wife and I plan to drive to Florida. I know the storage on the HCH is very limited because of the battery, the Prius for long trips is probably a better choice. If we don't get the 2 HCHs before June, we would also consider Prius and it is good to know that they are available.

I found it really disappointing that the Honda Dealership [you were dealing with] would change from being able to get the car in a few days to it will take months. In our case we were told a few days if we can find one in stock or 6 weeks if we need to order it. Now they don't remember saying 6 weeks, their actitude is don't call us, we will call you when is here .